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Saturday, 31 July 2010

Here are my items for the blog day sale. I have lots more items but unfortunately have run out of time to photograph and list them. As this is the first blog sale I have done, I am not sure about how much information to include. If you do need any more information, please email me on ceri at heathcotecommunications.co.uk

By Malene Birger Maxi Dress size 12 £16- Beautiful pattern in orange, brown and cream, chiffon fabric, spaghetti straps, frill on bottom of skirt, flattering empire line with contrast ribbon tie. Only worn 2 or 3 times. Tiny bit of fraying on one of the straps.

Original Vintage 80's Paul Costelloe Suit £15- The suit has shoulder pads and a pencil skirt. It is a quilted silk mix satin with embroidered gold spots. It would look amazing for an evening out. The jacket was originally double breasted but has been altered slightly to make it single breasted. It could very easily be retored to it's orginal double breasted style if a new set of similar large gold buttons were found. Each sleeve has two buttons on the cuff. There are two pockets one at the top and one at the botton of the front of the jacket, on opposite sides.There is a little damage - three of the embroidered dots have pulls in them on the right shoulder. It is fully lined and labelled as a size 14 but is probably nearer to a size 10/ 12 in comparison with most high street shops.

Denim Dress by Wholly Cow size 12, £6- A denim dress with raw cut edges and seams on the outside, an assymetrical zip fastening. Has been worn quite a few times but still in good condition the seams and hems look better for the slight fraying.

UK shipping £5

All the items will be photographed and described on the blog, with a price in sterling. The items will be sold on a first come first served basis. Payment will be by paypal only. International buyers are welcome but the shipping will be ammended to cover the cost. The first person to email me with their paypal email (so as I can send them an invoice for payment) will have the item placed on RESERVE for 2 hours. If payment is made the item will be marked SOLD. If payment is not received, the item will be offered to the next person. All items will be posted out Tue 3rd (as the Mon is a bank holiday). No returns will be accepted so please think carefully before you buy. All clothes will be either new or in an as new condition, any defects will be listed.

Friday, 30 July 2010

Despite being on holiday for the first part of this week, it has been incredibly busy not just at Style Eyes towers but in the fashion blogosphere in general. So much exciting stuff going on, I just can't wait to tell you.

On designerhighstreet.com I have finally got round to updating the shift dress collection with a great choice from lots of different retailers, please check it out if you are looking for one. Lots more updates on the site are planned over the next week.

British Style Bloggers have just launched a new community where you can do all those things that you do on other social networking sites but with other British Fashion Bloggers. I think this is an amazing resource I have joined up already here. They also have a meet up arranged visit the site for more details.

If you haven't already heard tommorrow is blog sale day organised by Fashion Pearls or Wisdom and starting at 11am. This is a great opportunity to recycle some of your clothes and make some space in your wardrobe as well as get your hands on some amazing clothes at a fraction of their original prices. If you would like to take part you can find out more here.

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Sarenza outfit competition, unfortunately I didn't win but hope to have a great competition/ giveway to express my gratitude.

While I was on holiday, Catwalk Genius announced that they have now achieved the level of fan funding required for the Kate Eary collection to be produced (this is the first ever fan funded collection). I have a have a great interest in this collection as I have funded a very small part of it. Unfortunately I missed the press preview but the collection will be ready in just a few weeks so I will definitely keep you posted.

Finally if you haven't already checked it out my favourite ethical store People Tree have a great sale on at the moment with some amazing dresses (amongst other things) and prices from £20. Only 5 days left to go!

Today is the first post for a new weekly feature that I have decided to run called Friday Finds. Each week I am going to feature some gorgeous clothing and accessories that I have found. All the clothing featured will have some element of sustainability be it second hand, vintage,from a clothes swap site, made locally, using sustainable or recycled materials or just quality pieces of clothing that you will last for years to come.

This week I have been scouring the internet for vintage floral dresses to satisfy my craving for patterns and in preparation for Vintage at Goodwood (my tickets arrived today and I am so excited). I am loving the a line vintage shapes which work so well to disguise my large hips and thighs.

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Ever since I got back from holiday have had an overwhelming urge to wear lots of bright patterns. My brief flirtation with neutrals and minimalism is over for now. The only way that I could seem to make neutral outfits not seem boring was by adding bright accessories.

I bought this dress for my daughter on holiday but thought I would just try it on as I love the colours so much. I am wishing that I had bought one for myself now. Perhaps she will let me borrow it occasionally.

I almost swapped/ sold this dress. What was I thinking of. I love the colours and the floral pattern so much.

I am now on the hunt for more bright patterns preferably vintage or second hand as this is the most sustainable option. I will share my findings very soon. Do you prefer bright patterns or neutrals?

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Today I wrote to Andy Clarke the CEO of ASDA (actually the wording of my letter was taken from the Action Aid website) but I thought you might be interested to see what I wrote.

Dear Andy Clarke

I am writing as I support ActionAid’s Who Pays? Campaign to make fashion fair and am deeply concerned about the level of workers’ pay in garments factories producing clothes for Asda George in Asia. Women working in your factories are being paid wages which keep them trapped in poverty and mean that they are unable to cover basic living costs for their families such as food, clothing and education.

This is scandalous given that the cost of bringing workers wages up to a decent level would be as little as an extra 2p on a £4 t-shirt. I would be willing to pay this tiny amount if it meant lifting workers out of poverty and I think Asda should too.

Earlier this year, M&S promised to pay all its workers in South Asia a living wage by 2015 and agreed to pay suppliers more in order to cover this cost. Shouldn’t Asda now be matching M&S’s commitment?

In your new role as CEO of Asda you have the opportunity to make your mark and improve the lives of thousands of poor workers. You could make Asda an ethical fashion leader by committing to the following now:

- Setting a deadline for paying Asda workers in Asia a living wage- Agreeing to pay suppliers more to cover the cost of wage increases- Doing all you can to promote workers’ rights to freedom of association in factories

I look forward to your response.

Ceri

I generally try and buy vintage and second hand clothes, ethical fashion and more expensive investment clothes when I can afford it, so don't really shop much at ASDA anyway but, I have in the past bought a few items and childrens clothes from ASDA. I was quite shocked to find out that ASDA pays the people who make its clothes so little. Wouldn't it be great if ASDA could lead the way in stylish ethical and sustainable fashion, I would consider buying clothes there then.

What do you think? Do you shop at Asda and would you be prepared to pay a tiny bit more to make fashion fair?

You can write the same letter asking him to pay a living wage to garments makers in Asia or use your own wording here.

Apologies for a complete lack of posting in the last 2 weeks but I have been very busy relaxing in Tenerife. I hope to pop over to my favourite blogs very soon and catch up on your latest posts and outfits.

You might not think of Tenerife as a particularly desirable holiday destination, but we stayed in one of the most beautiful parts a small town called Los Gigantes with the most amazing cliffs. I did very little except go to the pool and out for a meal each evening, I did once get a little adventurous on an hour speed boat trip down the coast where we saw dolphins and had the chance to swim in the sea. I had planned to post a diary of every outfit that I wore on holiday, but in reality I wore mainly a bikini in the day (which I am pretty sure no one would want to see) and in the evening it was really hot andeveryone got so fed up waiting for me to get ready, I think they would have gone mad if I had made them wait longer whilst I took pictures of myself- excuses, excuses.

I did however manage to get myself a lovely corset top and scarf which is perfect for a DIY project that I have planned for an amazing one Euro each at the local church jumble sale. I hope to show you pictures soon.

Whilst on holiday, I also had a chance to reflect and think about this blog a bit. I have some more plans for the blog which include more focus on sustainable fashion and some regular weekly features which I hope will make the blog a more interesting read.

Saturday, 10 July 2010

It must be all this warm weather but I can seem to stop cutting up clothes at the moment. I have had this denim skirt for years and whilst it is a great fit, I have always felt the length makes me look a bit mumsy. I decided to cut it down for a shorter skirt that I thought would work perfectly for this hot weather. I love refashioning old clothes into something new and have quite a few other clothes lined up for the chop over the next few days.

I am hoping that it will start to fray a bit once I put it through the washing machine so the edge doesn't look quite so clean cut.

Skirt - very old

Lace vest top - ASOS

Black waist coat - Dorothy Perkins (quite a long time ago)

Sandals - Spartoo

Celtic necklace - pressy from my sister

Bangle - pressy from Mr Style Eyes

Not wanting to sound repetitive, but if you haven't already done so please check out my outfit for the Sarenza outfit contest and if you like it vote. The blogger with the most votes wins a trip to Paris, some where that I desperately want to go. Thank you in advance and please let me know if I can return the favour. If you also subscribe to the Sarenza news letter you also get the chance to win £80 of Sarenza vouchers.

Friday, 9 July 2010

I suffer from a constant internal conflict especially when it comes to shoes. My head says that I should by eco friendly shoes. As I write for some eco fashion brands, I definitely know the facts, the risks to human health and the environment caused by the tanning of leather shoes. My heart says, I want my shoes to look great and there just isn't enough choice for me if I only shop for eco friendly shoes.

However, the choice is definitely becoming less of a problem and within the green section at online shoe retailer Spartoo, I had no problem at all finding plenty of eco friendly shoes that I love. Spartoo has a whole section for 'green' shoes from a variety of different brands including Vialis whose moto is 'to show as much respect to the customers as the environment', El Naturalista who make eco friendly shoes that combine tradition and modernity and Pikolinos a Spanish brand that concentrates on 100% natural shoes and artisan manufacture. The leather in these shoes is tanned with vegetable tans and without chemicals, this makes them better for the workers and the environment.

One of the best things about these shoes for me is that they have a strong focus on comfort, so I can actually get beautiful shoes that are comfortable to walk in. I even managed to find some 'Demi Wedges' mentioned in this months Elle as the latest must have shoe. The perfect option to give a bit of extra height on the school run.

According to all of the weather reports, it is going to be a hot one to day so I decided to wear shorts for the first time this year. These navy blue shorts and the brown suedette top have been rescued back from the sell/swap/donate rail. The shorts were previously evicted from the wardrobe on the basis that they were unflattering (my legs are definitely more tree trunk than super model) and they have hardly seen the sunshine this year. But as the weather is going to be so hot and I thought my new shoes would go well with shorts, I am going for it. I am pretty sure there will be pastier and chunkier legs on show than mine.

This outfit is a lot more minimalist than I would usually choose (I think I have definitely been sucked in by the summers neutral thing), I feel that it needs a bit of colour, but in another way I quite like the simplicity for a very hot day. My wardrobe is looking depressingly neutral at the moment, I have a vintage/ second hand shopping trip planned soon when I hope to stock up on some more bright and beautiful prints.

Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Finally, I have got the chance to wear my gorgeous new skirts that I got from a clothes swap with someone from Brazil. Some might wonder why I would bother to swap with someone that far away in Brazil, but whilst it took a little while for the skirts to arrive it only cost £5 for the postage to return my swap items. I think they are really different from anything that I have seen in the UK and the clothes that I sent back were things that I don't wear, so effectively, I have gained 2 skirts for £5. If you have never tried swapping, I would thoroughly recommend it. It is an even more exciting feeling to recieve a swap package than to recieve something brand new that you have ordered online.

One is tie dye with a mixture of reds, greens, yellows, orange, purples and blues. The other has a dip dye effect in a peach and sort of khaki green colour, it reminds me of a sunset.

I recently recieved an email from Laricea and keen as I am to promote ethical clothing, I have agreed to help out her out and also give you the chance to win some goodies. Here is what she has to say:

My name is Laricea Ioana Roman and I am a student at Kingston University, London. I am doing a Master in Marketing, Advertising and Communications and at the moment I am writing my Dissertation. My topic is related to ethical clothing, more specifically, I am investigating how personal values influence customers' decision to buy ethical clothing. In order to come up with some answers for my topic, I need some opinions from people who actually bought ethical clothes. Thus, I am kindly ask you to complete my survey, which will take you no more than 10 minutes and It could give you the chance to win £30 vouchers at The Body Shop and three eco-fashion books.

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

It is not something that I often do but today and each day until 15th July, I am asking for your help to win a trip to Paris by voting for my outfit in the Sarenza Continental Fashion Competition. It is really easy to do, you just have to is click here or on the banner at the side of the blog,then click the vote button. You can vote once per day until 15th July.

I am eternally greatful for your support and would be very happy to return the favour should you ever need my support in a competition. Whilst I am on the subject of asking for help, I would also be very very grateful of any nominations for the Cosmo Blog Awards.

Saturday, 3 July 2010

Just a really quick post after a busy day with a children's party. We now have glitter, toys and fairy parephenalia every where, but it was fun. Here is what I wore. I spotted the bow in Claires Accessories when searching for party bag goodies and just couldn't resist. It recieved mixed reactions from 'oooooh I love your bow, it looks beautiful' (my daughter) to ' aren't you a bit old for wearing bows in your hair?' (Mr Style Eyes). As it was my daughters party, naturally I wore it, she insisted. Actually I quite like it thought. I tried wearing it with just a plain navy top but much prefer it with the coloured necklace and some small scale pattern mixing (stripey bow and animal print bangle). I would have happily added a pair of fairy wings as well but was worried the mums might have thought I was a complete nutcase.

Thursday, 1 July 2010

Recently Mr Style Eyes recieved some tan lace up trainers from Blue Inc. I am currently loving weathered leather for shoes and bags. These look great as they have a retro look about them and the leather looks slightly creased and battered. I am not usually a big fan of trainers, especially white ones and I don't think white trainers have any place in an outfit (for men or women) unless they are exercising. Even worse brand new shiny trainers, they just don't look right. These tan leather trainers are the perfect alternative and great for the summer as they go with so many light weight casual outfits.

That got me thinking about some weathered leather shoes or boots to go with my new white dress. I was also inspired by Style of a Fashionista's recent Old Boot post. I have a great big stack of accessories and a rail of clothes in my office/ spare room which I have been meaning to swap, sell, donate to charity for quite some time. For some reason I have procrastinated and much to Mr Style Eyes disgust they have been there for nearly a year. I keep taking stuff back out of the pile and putting it back into my wardrobe. The latest thing that has managed to sneak its way back into my wardrobe is a pair of old cowboy boots the didn't fit me for a while after having my second child but seem to fit again now, the funny things that pregnancy does to your body. They are not vintage but they are well loved and I have had to stop Mr Style Eyes polishing them up to make them look new again (he says you can tell a lot by peoples shoes!).

I was really excited to recieve a package from Brazil yesterday. It was two skirts, one tie dye, one dip dye, that I swapped on Posh Swaps what seems like forever ago. I already have some outfit ideas in mind and hope to post them soon.

A Warmest Welcome to Readers of Style Eyes

Style Eyes Fashion Blog is a personal style blog that aims to offer inspiration for sustainable fashion on a budget. It includes my fashion finds and outfits from charity shops, vintage retailers and ethical brands as well as conventional online and high street retailers. It also details my thoughts and ramblings on all sorts of things and DIY experiments.

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Style Eyes doesn't claim to own any image displayed on this site. Images will always be credited where relevant and possible, but if you are the owner of an image and want it removed please email me and I will gladly do so. Style Eyes cannot be held responsible for the content of any of the websites linked from this blog.